==Wisconsin law requires alarms in day care vans
By DINESH RAMDE Associated Press Writer
MILWAUKEE (AP) -- Day care providers in Wisconsin now must install alarm systems in their vehicles to ensure that no child is unknowingly left inside by a driver.
Gov. Jim Doyle signed the requirement into law Friday at a Milwaukee day care, flanked by the parents of a 4-month-old boy who died after being left in a van last month.
"I sign it today as a tribute to Jalen," Doyle said.
A Milwaukee day care driver picked up Jalen Knox-Perkins on April 9 but mistakenly left him in the van for five hours with the windows rolled up. The heat killed Jalen, who had a blanket and jacket over him.
The Jalen Knox-Perkins Day Care Van Alarm Bill requires day care centers to install in some vehicles alarms that must be manually turned off when the vehicle is parked. The alarm button goes in the rear of vans, forcing drivers to walk to the back and, in theory, check each seat along the way.
"This is bittersweet for us as a family," said Marcus Perkins, Jalen's father, "but as long as something good came out of this, I'm happy."
Jalen and at least two other Milwaukee-area children have died since 2005 after they were left in day care vehicles for hours.
Under the new law, drivers who knowingly transport children in vehicles without alarms can be charged with a misdemeanor, carrying up to a year in jail and $1,000 in fines.
People who turn off the alarms without checking the vehicles can be charged with a felony punishable by up to 3.5 years in prison and $10,000 in fines.